Shadowed Flames
by ArcticOnline
Summary: "So. I just lost the cosmic lottery is what you're saying." "Well that's one way to put it." Finding herself lost in another world due to an Alchemy experiment, a young college student must adapt quickly in order to survive this strange new world and it's overtly violent inhabitants.
1. Strange Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood, or any related characters. Any names brought up are thought up on the spot and any correlation to the real world or other works are purely coincidental.**

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><p>Absolute nothingness stretched out in all directions. As far as the eye could see there was nothing but white, with the exception of two solitary individuals.<p>

The first was a being seemingly with no features whatsoever aside from a mouth that stretched out in an eerie smile that was far too wide to be on a regular human being, and a fuzzy shadow that outlined it's body so that it could be distinguished from the empty space surrounding it . The second was a thoroughly confused young woman who was lying flat on her back after appearing right out of the nothingness that permeated the area.

Blue eyes were revealed as she wiped her shoulder length black hair from them, One minute she was walking along on the sidewalk thinking things couldn't get any worse with exams, studying and work all scheduled for the same day, the next she cursing herself for making such a rookie mistake daring such thoughts. Things could always be worse.

"Welcome."

The voice snapped the woman out of her confused state as she shot up and stared open-mouthed at the strange being. It's voice was deep and had a strange, almost ethereal echo to it. Idly she noticed that the being almost looked feminine in shape. Almost like she would were all her features erased.

"Not very talkative, are you?" came the voice again. The being was sitting cross legged about six feet from where she was currently sitting and giving her an amused stare.

Finally her brain rebooted as the being's words registered in her head. She summed up her thoughts as all the pieces came together and a logical conclusion was reached.

"What a strange dream."

'Yes', she thought. 'This could only be a dream. It was probably the stress causing such wild fantasies to appear in my dreams. Maybe I could call in sick at work and take an evening off to relax… that should sort me out.''

Her thoughts were interrupted however, as the being then threw up it's head and laughed, the deep sound echoing eerily around the pair.

"A dream!" said The Figure as it got control of it's laughter. "I'm afraid not. However, I suppose I can see why you reached such a conclusion. After all, it's not every day I get visitors. And it wasn't any fault of yours that this meeting came to be."

It slowly dawned on the woman that maybe this wasn't a mere fantasy. Dreams weren't normally this lucid, and she didn't remember falling asleep after her walk from class. In fact, she didn't remember coming home at all.

"Who… who are you then?"

"Ah!" The Figure threw up it's arms and smiled that creepy too-wide smile again. "You finally asked! I am called many names. I am the world. I am the universe. I am god. I am truth. I am all. I am one. And I am also…"

It paused, probably for dramatic effect, as it slowly lifted it's hand and pointed at the woman.

"You."

Now thoroughly freaked out the young woman slowly crawled back as the Being finished it's introduction.

"So, uh... Mr universe... Or God... Er..."

"Truth will do. It is what most refer to me as anyway."

"Truth." She gulped nervously as she stared timidly at the ethereal being. "Am I dead?"

The Being leaned back and used it's arms for support as it contemplated the question.

"No. You are not dead. But you could have been, had the amount sacrificed not been precise. Such a delicate balance... one small error spells disaster for most, yet here you are, perfectly fine. Quite a feat, considering what most give up for this meeting."

"Sacrifice? Balance? What…?"

"Oh, excuse me. I forgot alchemy does not exist in your world. It is the science of understanding, deconstructing and reconstructing matter. It is impossible to perform without access to The Gate. Which reminds me..."

Just as Truth trailed off, a massive stone doorway complete with ornate pillars along the sides started to form behind it, pieces materializing from out of nowhere and fitting perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle as it slowly built itself.

The woman could only stare with an awed expression as the doorway completed itself and a picture started etching onto the two doors. Lines snaked out from the centre, forming rigid shapes and diagrams. Strange writing slowly worked it's way around the image, which turned out to be circular in shape. Once it was done, it almost looked like some sort of magical array, only with scientific edge to it. Everything was precise, geometric shapes within the circle perfectly balanced as if it were part of a mathematical equation.

Truth stood and turned as it took in the doorway. "There we go. Can't very well go through with the exchange without fulfilling my end of the bargain. Equivalent exchange after all, hm?"

None of this was making any sense to the young student.

"Wait, what happened? Where did that door come from? What is going on?" she moaned out the last bit as she struggled to understand Truth's words.

Still studying the doorway, Truth adopted a thinking pose, head cocked to one side and a hand on it's chin as it answered her.

"I won't go into details as it will just fly over your head, seeing as this is all new to you. But in essence, you were just used as part of a transmutation, an Alchemical Exchange if you will."

Truth then turned back to face her as she continued to stare at the being with a blank expression on her face.

"Since Alchemy does not exist in your world a higher price was needed on the other side of the equation to give balance. You needed a gate in which to traverse between the two worlds, not to mention the energy required for the actual act of fetching and transporting you as well…"

"Worlds? You mean there are more than one?"

"Oh yes, many more. But there are only two you should be concerned with that the moment. Well, one now, I suppose."

As Truth explained, the young woman slowly started to push herself up into a standing position. Her limbs felt weird, as if they weren't really there. Just as she finally found her balance a more pressing issue became clear to her.

"Why am I naked!?" she shrieked. Hands futilely tried to cover herself as her face quickly started burning.

"Ah yes. You see, Alchemy is a very precise science, and nothing was given to compensate for your apparel, not to mention those devices you had on your person. So those things were left out of the equation."

'Great. There was probably a bunch of people gathered around what used to be me and is now just a bunch of empty clothes lying in the middle of the street.' She paused her thoughts as she went over what Truth had said to her.

"Wait. What was this price you mentioned? What was used to... Balance the equation?"

"The most potent energy source of all of course!" Truth grinned as if he were revealing some juicy piece of gossip. "Here's a hint: you are also a source of energy."

The woman paled slightly as the meaning of Truth's words slowly formed in her mind. Before she could freak out about that however a more pressing issue just occurred to her as she went over Truth's words again in her head.

"Wait, why should I only be concerned with one world now? What did you mean by transported? And why was I chosen for all this!" she shouted, mind reeling from all these revelations.

"Well, what the exchange asked for in essence was a life for a life. So, since the worlds connected are not limited to space and time, I simply reached in and picked one suitable to balance the equation."

Her eyebrows twitched slightly as Truth rubbed the back its head in a sheepish gesture.

"So. I just lost the cosmic lottery is what you're saying."

"Well that's one way to put it. But to answer your first question…"

Truth trailed off as the 'Gate' slowly opened to reveal darkness beyond its doors. The young student backed away slowly, looking into the inky blackness with a fearful expression on her face. Truth then adopted his usual smile and looked bemusedly at her actions.

"There is no point in running. The Equation has already been set, the materials already consumed, and the transmutation already underway."

Just as it finished, eyes suddenly blinked open and focused on her. She turned and tried to run away but black tentacles shot outwards from the darkness, gripping hard onto her limbs. Her scream of terror was stifled as one tentacle wrapped around her mouth. She was slowly lifted off the ground, struggling against her restraints as Truth approached her.

"You really should be thankful. As I said, Alchemy does not exist in your world, and much was sacrificed to build you that gate. This hasn't really been done before. Well… not successfully at any rate."

"It really is too bad though," it sighed, walking around the woman still struggling against the tendrils wrapped around her. "Not enough was sacrificed to expose you to The Truth. And since you played no part in the act of the transmutation, I cannot just take the price from you. Oh well..." Truth paused as it leaned in and came face to face with her. Her eyes were wide with terror as It's smile widened considerably.

"Maybe next time."

Before the young woman could struggle any further the tentacles yanked her backwards through the darkness of the gate. A muffled scream was all that was heard before she disappeared into the darkness. The massive doors closed shut immediately afterward with a loud bang resonating throughout the blank landscape.

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><p>On the other side of the gate, smoke swirled around a darkened room as light faded from the centre, many random objects scattered about in haphazard stacks. Tables cluttered with everything from detailed scientific notes to test tubes filled with strange and colourful substances were lined up along three of the walls in the messy room. A stairway with light pouring down from above was seen by the other wall, seemingly the only source of light in what appeared to be a basement laboratory. And in the center of it all, a detailed drawing of a transmutation circle, blood staining the edges of it.<p>

As the smoke cleared, an aging man with thinning messy blond hair and dressed in a labcoat was revealed kneeling at the edge of the circle, hands still pressed onto it as the transmutation completed. He looked up and adjusted his glasses as the last of the light faded from the circle.

"Did it work…?"

Just as the words left his mouth, the smoke finally cleared and revealed an unconscious form in the middle of the array.

He got to his feet and slowly made his way to the figure. Grabbing a clipboard from inside his labcoat he leaned over and examined the person. A small smile started to form on his face, getting wider and wider as he confirmed his experiment.

"It worked… It worked!" A laugh escaped his lips as he stood and pumped his fists to the air,

"It actually worked! Finally, after so many failures…" He trailed off as his laughs gained a slight manic edge to it.

Meanwhile, the form on the floor groaned and started to awaken in the wake of the laughter echoing around the room. As her eyes blinked open the scientist shook himself out of his celebration and started to examine his guest in earnest.

Kari Hanson was not having the best of days. Her day first began late as she scrambled to get to her morning lecture on time. Barely managing that, she also had midterms to study for that were starting later that week, and with classes taking up her mornings, and her part time job taking up her evenings, not a lot of time was left for her to take a minute to herself and relax. Then came the call to come into work early because her boss was short handed and conveniently needed to be elsewhere for the she was plucked from her frantic run downtown to sit in and have a chat with, of all people, God, or whoever that being was, stark naked, in the middle of freaking nowhere. Literally.

And, to top it all off, it was all apparently so this 'Truth' being could balance out a magical hocus-pocus experiment that some jerk probably cooked up just to screw with her specifically.

Sometimes she hated life. Although she really couldn't blame herself for this mess for once.

Speaking of...

After shaking the cobwebs out of her head for the second time in as many minutes, she took notice of the old man leaning over her, clipboard in hand and furiously scribbling notes. He didn't look like the social type with his unkempt appearance and ratty labcoat hanging off his thin frame.

His thinning blond hair was swept over in a combover and piercing blue eyes roamed back and forth behind his black framed glasses across his notes. Occasionally they would roam over her, taking her in as if she were some interesting specimen to be studied.

After a full minute of blank stares and the sound of pencil scribbling, Kari had enough. Just as she worked up the courage to address the man he reached down and yanked her up, a startled 'eep' escaping from her lips.

Holding her up by her wrists the man began poking and prodding at her, eliciting indignant noises from the woman.

"Hey!" she called indignantly. "Just who do you think you are to-" she was cut off as soon as her mouth was opened wide enough for the man to shove a tongue depressor in her mouth. As he made a hemming noise and pulled out a small flashlight to shine in her eyes, Kari's temper snapped.

Just as he started to shine the light into her face, Kari's fist connected with the side of his face with enough force to sent him flying into one of the overstocked tables with a crash. Papers and scientific apparatus went flying in all directions as the table broke under his weight. Breathing heavily and shaking her slightly throbbing fist, the woman put on a deadpan expression as she noticed the guy was on the floor _still writing_ onto his damnable notepad.

"... Motor functions appear to be functional, specific tests will have to be done in order to determine if anything was lost in the transfer, hopefully with a little less violence, but all in all, subject appears to be perfectly fine…" the old man was still mumbling to himself as she wrote, lying on top of some important looking diagrams. But that wasn't Kari's concern at the moment.

"Hey! You old pervert!" She yelled at the man. Honestly, how could someone be that focused on their work? All things aside, she would have loved his ability to drown out all distractions last week when she was cramming for the upcoming exams.

The man stopped for a second and turned his head over to the girl, as if just realising that he was not alone.

"Oh! You can speak our language as well! Fantastic! This is far better than I initially thought. Communication was a real worry you see, I'm so glad I won't have to resort to vague gestures and-" He was cut off as the tables were turned and he was yanked up my the collar of his shirt by both her hands. Not in the mood to indulge the apparent scientist any further Kari leaned in and hissed out. "What is going on here?! Why am I here, why are you writing notes about me, _and_ _why am I naked?!_" Her voice steadily grew in volume until she was shouting the last bit.

The man calmly adjusted his glasses as he looked at her with an annoyed expression.

"Not too rough, will you? I'll explain in due time." Just as she began to throttle him the man hastily pressed on. "You were just used in part of a Transmutation, my life's work you see. It took the basic principle of equivalent exchange and applied it to dimensional transfer-"

"Woah, slow down here! Transmutation? Dimensional Transfer? Speak english here!"

"... If you would let me continue." He tapped one of the arms holding him up. She lets go and the man took a step back and calmly rearranged his tie as he continued on.

"English? I assume that is what you call Amestrian on the other side of the gate. At any rate… A transmutation is an Alchemical reaction that occurs when an Alchemist, such as myself, activates an array designed to do anything from simple material deconstruction and reconstruction to altering the very laws of the universe itself! What I just did was open the gateway between our two worlds, and summon you from yours to mine. Nobody was even thought to attempt such a thing before! It's a monumental discovery that will change the way all Alchemists view their own well established theories! I'll be famous once I publish my works! They'll even pardon my past transgressions against the state once they find out just how successful I've been with my research..."

Kari stopped listening halfway through his mad rant, taking a step back and numbly falling back onto her behind. She was in another world? As in one separate from Earth? How on… earth… did this happen? She woke up that morning thinking the biggest thing she had to tackle was her class assignments, not getting back from another dimension, world or whatever!

She turned her thoughts back to the half maddened scientist who was midway through a rant about something called the fifth lab and how all 'those pencil pushers would get theirs' once he was done with them.

"Um. So…"

He stopped and looked around for the voice addressing him. Seeing her in the ground he waved his clipboard out in a sweeping gesture, bowing a little. "Simon Fletcher, former Alchemist of the State, and soon to be world renowned scientist."

'Not full of himself at all' she thought sarcastically. "Mr. Fletcher… you still haven't explained why I am naked." she said awkwardly, still in her sitting position on the floor doing her best to cover herself with her arms.

The man went back to scribbling furiously in his notes, moving just off to the side with his back turned to her. "Ah. I would assume that is because they were as well. I didn't want to complicate matters further by adding inorganic materials into the transfer."

"'They?'"

He idly pointed his pen to the edge of the circle drawn on the ground and Kari's eyes followed. What she saw caused her to gasp, hands flying to her mouth in horror.

Positioned around her in a circle where six bodies lying hunched on the floor, blood pooling around each of them. They appeared to have been bound and gagged before thrashing about violently. Following the circular designs on the floor, she noticed with surprise that it was the same design that etched itself to the strange gateway that Truth had constructed for her in that blank landscape. The patterns were exactly the same, right down to the writing that looked to be latin or something similar that worked it's way around the whole outer circle.

As the man continued with his note taking, Kari frantically looked for a way out of this hellhole. She figured that asking nicely wouldn't get her sent home, and she didn't want to spend another minute with a crazed scientist that apparently had no regard for human life.

She slowly stood on shaky legs and made for the nearest looking exit, a door just behind the pair opposite the stairway.

Kari broke into a run as she neared salvation, yanking open the door with enough force to chip off part of the moldy frame.

She promptly fell back with a shriek of terror.

Just beyond the door was something right out of a horror movie. A dozen or so human corpses filled the small closet, unceremoniously piled up on top of each other. The rancid stench of decomposition that assaulted her nose caused her to gag and scramble back.

"Ah. I see you found my previous attempts."

She whirled her head around to face the aging alchemist who was standing just behind her.

"Shame it couldn't be done the first time. Each attempt took six subjects to fully balance the equivalent rates and getting ahold of… volunteers… proved quite troublesome. Not to mention the amount needed to test how to find that specific number."

His smile became eerily similar to that of Truth's. "Now then. If you are quite finished, we need to get to testing. There are many different theories to confirm, and I have yet to do a proper examination of you, and I would prefer it if my data was as genuine as possible, without any flaws in my observations due to… means of restraint."

A beat passed before a pair of terrified blue eyes found their way to the lone staircase on the opposite side of the room.

"Oh don't even try. I was a nationally certified alchemist before that mess currently going on in Ishval you know. You wouldn't make it a halfway across the room."

His words barely registered as Kari scrambled to her feet and bolted along the wall towards the light of the stairway. The man sighed and pulled out a piece of chalk from one of his pockets on his labcoat. Almost lazily drawing a simple transmutation circle on the wall beside him, he pressed his right hand to it and it started to glow, the alchemic reaction forming small bolts of electricity along the wall between himself and the fleeing woman. True to his words, she barely made it halfway along the wall before concrete bars shot out of the floor and rose to the ceiling front of her. She turned to run around the obstruction but additional bars rose on the two other sides. She was trapped.

"I told you it was useless. They don't give out state licences to amateurs you know."

The man walked up to the now trembling woman inspecting the alchemically formed cell, three walls of vertical bars backed against the wall. "Since it's unlikely you'll behave, you'll have to stay in here for the time being. Last thing I need is the military coming down on me before I have a chance to gather all the necessary data. Not to mention the need to fabricate a few of my notes to make my methods look a little less… extreme."

He turned started to make his way to the staircase as the woman grasped the bars and frantically looked for a way out of her confinement. Just as he reached the staircase he turned back to her and said "Oh, and making any attempts to escape will prove quite futile. Not only is my lab soundproof, we are quite isolated out here. Can't have anyone wondering in on me. Or out, as it were…"

With that he made his way up the stairs, the door slamming shut behind him, leaving Kari to sink to her knees and wallow in the absolute darkness of her surroundings.

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><p><strong>Well, off we go then. This is the first story I've published on this site so yeah. Hurray and celebration and all that stuff. <strong>

**I must admit, this idea isn't really mine. A friend who doesn't have a lot of time on their hands asked me to write out one of the ideas they had for a story and I took them up on it. I hope I am doing it justice! Not sure where exactly we'll end up with this, but you're welcome to come along for the ride! Until next time.**


	2. Unfair Dilemmas

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or related works.**

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><p>Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang walked along the corridors of Eastern Command at a brisk pace, footsteps echoing behind him. His dark hair was casually unkempt, falling over charcoal colored eyes as they roamed over new faces and old in the hallways. Soldiers occasionally stepped aside and saluted him with reverence in the halls as he strode by. He mostly ignored those who did, his recently awarded title of 'The Hero of Ishval' was not one he was particularly proud of. Oh sure, it certainly helped with his reputation and will help in furthering his goals in the future, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He did not consider wholesale slaughter something to be praised and rewarded.<p>

"Sir?"

He was shaken out of his dark thoughts by his newly transferred and trusted subordinate Riza Hawkeye. She had short blond hair and intense brown eyes that cowed even the most rowdy of soldiers. The Second Lieutenant stood at attention just outside the doorway to Lieutenant General Grumman's office, which he almost walked straight past in his distraction. Her light brown eyes were furrowed in concern as he shook himself slightly and waved away the question that was on her lips. He just wanted to get this meeting over with so he could get back to perusing the new recruit roster for additional personnel he deemed worthy of his trust.

The sooner he started laying a solid foundation for his rise through the ranks, the sooner he could lead this country away from the dark path it had been on since the current regime came into power.

He would start small, spreading his ideals to those under him, in the hopes that they in turn would spread them further to those under them, and so on. It was a start, one that he had to be careful with. If he chose the wrong people to trust, he could be out in front of a military court for conspiracy and treason before he had even started on his path.

The current regime wasn't known for its leniency when it came to seditious acts. The recent culling of an entire culture group of people who dared such thoughts was evidence enough of that.

As the pair entered entered the General's office Mustang immediately brushed past the secretary's desk and made for the doors leading to the private office of his mentor. Hawkeye exchanged glances with the female secretary and walked over the side to take a seat in one of the chairs in the small waiting area.

Lieutenant General Grumman was an aging man in his twilight years, hair balding at the top and grey throughout what remained on the side of his head, and an upwards pointed mustache that was of the same color. Violet eyes were framed by a pair of circular spectacles and his overall demeanor spoke of a kind hearted old man getting ready to retire. He looked up from his desk and smiled as his door opened and Mustang walked in. "Ahh Roy, my boy. Punctual as usual, I see."

Mustang walked up to stand in front of his desk and offered a crisp salute as the General shuffled the paperwork he was working on and slotted it into one of the drawers in his desk. "You wanted to see me Sir?"

Grumman leaned back into his chair and steepled his fingers behind his head. "Indeed, I seem have need of your expertise in a matter that has been plaguing one of the cities here in the east."

"An assignment? Already?" Mustang asked in surprise. "But I've only just recently transferred to your command. I'm still dealing with the transfer procedures, not to mention I still haven't had the time to put together a proper team yet."

"Aside from my granddaughter that does all said paperwork for you, hmm?" the General teased as Mustang sputtered at his implication. He pressed on before his subordinate could deny it. "In any case, the matter is urgent enough that I need you there to resolve this issue sooner, rather than later."

Grumman stood up and walked over to a large map that dominated one of the walls in his office, motioning Roy to follow him.

"The city of New Optain and it's surrounding areas to the north have been plagued by something of a serial kidnapper these past few months. It's gotten so bad that the people are afraid to leave their homes at night, and horrid rumors are spreading about how one simply disappears without a trace if you so much as turn down a darkened alleyway. The local police force has put in a formal request for military intervention as they have been unsuccessful in obtaining even an inkling as to who the perpetrator is." he explained as he traced a line from East City to the north, where New Optain was marked.

"A kidnapper? You need me to drop everything to go after a petty criminal in another part of the province?" Mustang asked incredulously.

"I assure you, this is no common thug we're dealing with." The aging officer moved back to his desk and picked up a folder lying on top of one of the piles of paperwork, handing it to his protege. "He's already racked up a body count of sixteen females and seven males, all within the ages of seventeen to thirty. He never leaves a trace, and no bodies are found even months after their disappearance."

"Still, I don't see why this requires a man of my rank to deal with this. I'm sure any other soldier would do just fine." Mustang replied as he skimmed through the first page.

"Ahh, you would think." the General had a strange gleam in his eye as he gestured to the folder in Roy's hands. "We have access to a fair bit more information than the regular police do. Have a look at page three."

Mustang skipped through the first couple pages, reading through what looked to be a missing in action report. His eyes widened slightly at what was written.

"A State Alchemist?" he said in surprise as he looked at a picture of an older man with thinning blond hair and black rimmed glasses that hid his eyes.

"Former State Alchemist." Grumman corrected. "He was reported missing from Central just before the orders to deploy into Ishval went out last year. He was last working on a top secret government project at the now closed fifth laboratory, and was suspected of fleeing eastward with stolen research materials. What with all the manpower shortages and the ongoing conflict, his capture wasn't a very high priority at the time."

"And you suspect him to be the cause of all these kidnappings?"

Sitting back down behind his desk, the General steepled his fingers in front of his face. "I have suspected for sometime that he was still within my part of the country and have been keeping an ear out for any information relating to a missing alchemist by his description. These recent kidnappings have his fingerprints all over them."

"You sound like you know him."

"Yes. Simon Fletcher. He was briefly under my command back when I was a colonel serving in Central. He is a very gifted Alchemist specializing in the field of Bio-alchemy. A very brilliant man back in the day, but prone to jealousy and was never really satisfied with his lot in life. I'm not all that surprised with how he turned out."

Now Mustang could see now why he was requested. A trained alchemist on his own was dangerous to deal with, add in a State Certification and you've got a whole different mess of problems on your hands. The military only went after the best, after all.

"I know you're just settling in after your service in Ishval, but you're currently the only State Alchemist stationed here in the East. All the others have turned in their certification and left the military."

That didn't surprise Mustang one bit. Many of his former comrades were wracked with guilt after the atrocities they had committed in Ishval, and not too many remained with the military after all was said and done.

"Very well then. I'll depart immediately and have this matter resolved in short order." He straightened and gave a salute to his commanding officer as he prepared to leave the office.

"Just one more thing Colonel."

Roy turned back to face Grumman as the older man gave him a serious look.

"When you find him, you are to carry out his immediate execution and destroy any and all information and materials concerning his past and present research. This order comes directly from the top brass. I don't know what he has been up to, and frankly, I don't want to know. These kidnappings are his doing, and I don't like the implications of what that could mean concerning his current areas of research."

Mustang paled at his mentor's words. A rogue Alchemist behind mass kidnappings and on the run after stealing sensitive materials from the government. Why didn't he make the connection sooner?

"You don't mean… Human Transmutation?" he whispered.

"Yes, I fear so. You understand now the importance of this case. It's unfortunate, but you know the laws. He has broken one of the most important creeds of Alchemists in this country and must pay the price."

He pierced his subordinate with a stern look. "You must not look into anything he has researched, past or present. The fuhrer himself gave that command. Doing so will get you an automatic court martial, or worse, should you disobey. You are only to eliminate him and his research. Do you understand me?"

Mustang gulped nervously and nodded his confirmation. With a final salute, the Flame Alchemist departed the office and collected his aide before making his way to their section of the Command Center.

"What was the meeting about, Sir? The Lieutenant General rarely summons you to his office so suddenly without warning." asked Hawkeye as they neared their office.

"Pack your bags, Lieutenant." replied Mustang as he opened the door to his office. "We have an assignment to the north that requires our immediate attention."

"An assignment?" Hawkeye asked in surprise. "So soon? But we haven't even settled in yet." She waved over to the boxes stacked haphazardly around the office to prove her point.

Mustang walked over to his desk and and started to rummage through different containers. "I know, but I was specially requested for this, as this matter can only be handled by someone with my special… abilities." As he said that he found what he was looking for and pulled out what looked to be a small silver briefcase by the handle. Opening it, he pulled out a pair of the gloves that made him so renowned within the ranks of the military.

Riza stared at the gloves that bore the result of her father's research with a serious expression on her face. "Very well then. Where are we off to?"

As The Flame Alchemist donned his infamous gloves he grabbed his usual black overcoat off the back of his chair and started putting it on over his uniform. "New Optain, just two stops to the north by rail. Gather a squad of soldiers from the barracks and meet me at the station. I'll get our transportation cleared for this evening once I arrive there."

The Second Lieutenant saluted sharply before turning and leaving the office to carry out his orders. Mustang looked back at the folder he held in his hands and gripped it tightly.

He had a feeling things were about to get interesting.

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><p>Two months had passed since Kari had crossed over into this strange new world. Or at least, she thought it had been two months. With her arms chained to the wall behind her, it was hard to continue the scratches on the wall that marked how many days had passed since her confinement.<p>

About a week after she was dropped into the crazed scientists basement, she started to grow desperate in her bid to escape her dark and dank hell. True to his word, the cell he had Alchemically constructed was near fool-proof. The basement itself had no windows, the only source of light coming from the cracks in the doorway above the stairs.

She was given a meager meal twice a day and had her chamber pot emptied every other day. Aside from that, the only activity she saw was the constant 'testing' the man had put her through. These varied from collecting blood samples to asking all sorts of questions about where she was from. She never answered truthfully, always giving wildly exaggerated stories about technology that didn't exist or or making up utter nonsense on the spot. No way was she going to give him anything remotely true after what he was putting her through.

Her favorite moment so far was when she turned on of their 'sessions' on him into a game questions for nearly an hour, him almost screaming in fury by the end and her laughing her head off. His expression was worth the painful electrical treatment she received afterwards, (another one of his damnable 'tests', but she assumed it was just his way of getting petty revenge). She suspected he knew her answers were not genuine, but she didn't care. She wanted nothing more than to escape her confines and possibly murderize the jerk keeping her here on her way out.

Then, about a month into her capture, she decided to try her hand at that weird magic (or science, as he was quick to reprimand her) that she had witnessed him performing at various points in her confinement in order to get free. From what she understood, you drew a fancy circle, pressed your hand to it, and magic happens. It was probably more complicated than that, but he wasn't one to explain how to do it, so she took to drawing rough circles with a piece of chipped concrete on the floor of her cell and trying to do… something, anything, with them. It never worked, but there was nothing but time on her hands to try it anyway.

He had recognized her poor attempts to hide the evidence and chained her arms to the wall in order to stop her from having even a small chance at freedom.

Getting over to the chamber pot to do her business was _really_ fun now. A freakin balancing act that was almost circus performance worthy each and every time she had to go.

At least he had the decency to provide her with some clothing (after a few days of her constant complaining and yelling). Even if it was just a rough linen shirt and loose pants that wouldn't have looked out of place on a prisoner from the Elder Scrolls series, at least she wouldn't freeze to near death every night.

Thumping sounds were heard overhead and the supports started creaking as she wallowed in the darkness of her cell. That meant the old bastard had woken up and a new day had dawned in the glorious land of 'whereverthefuck', as she had taken to calling it.

She sighed and tried in vain to find a more comfortable position, the chains clinking softly above her. Another day of humiliation and tests when he was done with his morning routine was in order, just like every other day.

She didn't know what was worse; Enduring his endless (and often painful) sessions, or thinking about what would come after he was done toying around with her.

Hopefully however, she wouldn't around long enough to find out. While her hands were almost constantly bound to the walls of her cell when she wasn't being used as part of some test or experiment or whatever, she was always looking for opportunities to swipe anything that could aid her in during her freedom. She currently had managed two items over the last couple months of confinement.

One was a file, swiped off one of the messes that was piled about the increasingly chaotic laboratory. Kari had stumbled on a bit of rubbish as she was being led back to her cell after a particularly lengthy game of twenty questions, and Just As she was midway through cursing the old bastard out on his lack of organization skills, she saw it. Placed on top of a box strewn with various implements used for maintaining the equipment in the lab, she wasted no time stuffing it down her shirt and getting back to her feet before she arouse

Kari felt along the links connecting to the cuffs attached to her wrists, feeling the metal that had been worn away constantly over the last couple weeks. So far her captor hadn't noticed each time he slapped the restraints on. Hopefully that would continue so she could put the second piece of contraband she had hidden in the waistband of her trousers.

One of the tests Simon had put her through involved strapping her to an operating table and putting her under while he did who knows what. She feigned sleep long after she had awoken, looking for anything that she could use in her eventual escape. Once the scientist's back was turned to her, she slowly reached out to the tray beside her and pocketed a scalpel. She was tempted to thrust it into him as soon as he got near and lifted her back to confinement, but instead held herself back. She would wait for the perfect time, when he was distracted enough so he couldn't use his alchemy or strength against her. The small surgical instrument was currently hidden in a small crack right behind her. As soon as she was free from her bonds, she would make her move.

Kari was a little hesitant at first about using her stolen surgical implement on that man. She had never taken a life and never thought she would come even remotely close to a situation where she would even consider doing such a thing, but now she was getting desperate. The constant testing and punishment for interfering with said testing was wearing her down, as well as the thought that the man was almost done with his research. He might move her to a more secure place after that, so the time to act was now or never.

"So. What shall we get to today then?"

She looked up at the ageing man's words as he came to a stop in front of her cell. It was decided. Today she would make her move. Either her captor would be dead by her hands at the end of the night, or she would be confined to a life of a human guinea pig for the rest of her days.

She clenched her hands as he made to unlock the door of her cell, steeling her resolve. She would rather die in her attempt than live through that fate.

* * *

><p>It took all of two days for Mustang to narrow his search to an abandoned estate on the outskirts of the city. Having a description to work off of certainly helped give him an edge over the local MP's, but that didn't stop his smug look when he delivered the news to the officer in charge of the local garrison.<p>

When he arrived in New Optain, he started by ordering his soldiers into plainclothes and had one team scour the city districts, the other the nearby countryside, subtly gathering information on the whereabouts of the missing alchemist.

One corporal assigned to the countryside had heard rumors of a man matching the old alchemist's description and had tracked him down to an isolated mansion that had fallen into disrepair. Under the guise of being hired to fix it up for the owners, six months had gone by without any progress being done and the local farmers were getting suspicious of the rarely seen man.

It was now dusk, the last rays of day slowly fading away as the soldiers, now in clad their regular blue uniforms and armed with various closed range weapons, were lined up and awaiting orders from the Lieutenant Colonel. Said man was looking over the fence surrounding the estate contemplating ways to resolve this matter with the least amount of casualties possible.

Standard procedure would be to storm the grounds, covering all exits with one team while the other clears the abode room by room, but he was not dealing with some ordinary renegade. This man was dangerous, with who knows how many tricks he picked up over the years up his sleeve. His file said that while he was not the most offensively oriented alchemist, he was still considered a genius when it came to bio-alchemy. The worst case scenario was that he had created chimeras, animals altered and combined through alchemy, and had them caged and ready to sic on unsuspecting intruders. He could lose many men to such a trap before they even had a chance to fight back.

Hawkeye approached him as he was deep in thought, a bolt-action rifle slung on her back and dressed in dark combat fatigues suited for a covert operation. She had two pistols in underarm holsters, as well as another concealed at the small of her back. Overall, she looked ready to face just about anything.

"We're ready and awaiting your orders to take the estate, Sir."

Mustang turned and considered the soldiers under his command.

Hawkeye was capable of handling herself on her own, but he still didn't want to risk his second in command in what could be a drawn out battle between two state level alchemists. Good as she was with firearms, the thoughts of losing her to some alchemically welded together beast or a stray bit of hasty alchemy was at the front of his mind.

The same was true for the other soldiers. Some were combat veterans from the civil war, others green recruits just out of basic, but they were all the same in that they were all outmatched in terms of sheer violent potential the former State Alchemist had.

With those thoughts in mind, he came to a conclusion and addressed his assembled squad. The soldiers snapped to attention as he cleared his throat.

"All right men. Within that estate we have a former state alchemist up to who knows what within it's walls. Our orders are to eliminate him and destroy any research and materials he had stolen from the Government. As his work is considered highly illegal and condemned by the state, any and all contraband you come across is to be immediately destroyed. Any other course of action will be met with court martial. Am I understood?"

A chorus of 'yes sir!' rang out as he continued with his plan.

"Now then, as we do not know what may be lurking within the walls of the estate, you men will separate into teams and cover the entrances. Red team will cover the back door and outer sheds, Blue team will cover the front door and side windows. Shoot any who try to escape and be on your guard for any traps that may be lying in wait for us.

"As for the Lieutenant and I, we will silently make our way in and attempt to put an end to this criminal before he has a chance to retaliate. Any Questions?"

Nobody spoke up. It was a simple enough plan: Stand guard and shoot anything that moves.

Mustang waved his men forward and they split up into two roughly even teams. The first made their way along the low wall surrounding the estate and started to take up positions near the back, some soldiers silently checking through the outer sheds and storage areas. The other team with himself in the lead hurried to the front of the two story mansion, splitting in half again and covering the windows along both sides as well as the front door.

He motioned to a red haired private beside the door who nodded and silently turned the handle and pushed the door inwards. Hawkeye and himself silently slid their way in, the door shutting softly behind them.

As Roy took in the unlit interior of the mansion, Riza constantly scanned room, moving her handgun in sync with where she checked. Seeing that the entry hall was clear, they both made their way into an adjoining room. Clearing the living room, kitchen, and one of the bathrooms, they started clearing what looked to be a library of some sort. Bookcases filled with dusty tomes lined the walls and interior of the room. Both froze and whirled towards a bookshelf that was by one of the interior walls when a muffled scream rang out from behind it, Hawkeye's gun clicking and Mustang's fingers ready to let loose hellfire. The sound drowned out, replaced by eerie silence as the pair slowly approached the seemingly ordinary section of the floor to wall bookcase.

The two studied the shelf, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Idly, mustang noticed that all the titles on the shelf where dry, long winded history texts and related nonsense. One book, however, stood out amongst all other tomes, and his face twitched into a small smile as he reached out to touch the familiar hardback.

'_Introduction to Alchemy', huh? Haven't seen that book in almost a decade.'_ he thought to himself. The book was really out of place. Not only was it a completely different subject matter compared to everything else on the shelf, it was the only tome not covered in a thick layer of dust.

As he pulled out the book, a soft _click_ was heard. Roy grasped the side of the bookshelf and gently tugged it open. It swung silently on well oiled hinges and revealed a staircase down into a dimly lit room basement, where voices where heard coming up from the depths.

As the Lieutenant made to lead the way down the stairs, Mustang pulled her back. Brown eyes looked to him in silent question.

"I'll go down first, Lieutenant. You stay here and provide backup."

She opened her mouth to protest, a frown forming on her face when he held his hand up and continued, "We don't what's down there, and I am the only one qualified to take this man on. I'll shout for you if the need arises, but I need to go down there alone."

She still didn't look convinced so he pulled out his trump card.

"Look, it's probably very cramped down there, and I don't want you to get caught in the crossfire in case I need to set the whole room alight."

That did it. She reluctantly nodded her assent.

"... Fine. But at the first sound of trouble I'm coming down to back you up. Somebody needs to be there to save your ass when you inevitably get too cocky." Her lips twitched upwards a little at his indignant expression as she put a finger in front of her lips and gently pushed him towards the opening.

Very carefully so as to make as little noise as possible, Roy crept down the steps, keeping to the edges where the supports were situated so the steps didn't creak. The voices were getting louder as he neared the bottom and he could just start to make them out.

"We wouldn't need to resort to such methods if you only cooperated. You only bring this upon yourself you know..."

The male voice was speaking in tone similar to that of a teacher scolding a student. As he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw the man he wanted with his back to him, talking to someone sitting in a cell on the opposite side of the room.

"F... fuck you." Came the raspy reply from the person in the cell. Mustang noted that the second voice sounded female. He could just barely make out a form in the dark cell, clad in rags sitting with arms chained above their head to the wall.

The man tsked and started for one of the desks a little further along the wall the cell was sticking out of. Mustang hid behind some boxes as he took in the rest of the disorganized basement.

It looked like a small laboratory, a little like one of the half dozen or so that dotted Central, only more chaotic. Tables were overstocked with both important looking apertae and stacks of notes scrawled in messy print. A whole chemistry setup was busy distilling some unknown substance in the off to one side of the room, right beside what looked like an operating table complete with the only source of light in the room hanging above it.

His eyes widened when they found the transmutation array laid out in the center of the room. Pools of what appeared to be dried blood dotted around the array, making it's use clear.

He had to force himself to look away; the Alchemist in him wanted to unlock its secrets, while the other more reasonable side was telling him that this was the devils work. Besides, he would never resort to Human Transmutation, it always rebounded on the user. Nothing was worth the risk.

As he slowly made his way across towards the rogue alchemist, making sure to keep behind cover, the wanted man continued with his conversation with the occupant of the cell

as he sat down at the desk.

"Look, I don't see why you are being so uncooperative. Just a few more samples and we're done! Then I can show my results to the top brass and we'll both be famous! They'll gladly pardon my past transgressions in the wake of my findings. Imagine, me, the brilliant scientist who unlocked a whole new field of study in Alchemy, and you, the being brought forth from the gate from another world!"

Mustang stopped himself, hand poised to scorch the man with his back turned to him and did a double take, looking at the girl in the cell at his words. Another world? That was interesting. What did he mean by that? He lowered himself back down to listen, orders be damned. He had to know what was going on here. He hoped Hawkeye didn't take his long absence as leave to come down here guns blazing before the man revealed more about what transpired here.

The girl in the cell coughed out a laugh as the man finished with his speech. She really didn't look to be in good condition. Bruises dotted the parts of her thin frame that showed from beneath the rags she wore. Her black hair was long and wild, probably from having not seen a comb in ages. Her arms hung limply on the chains, some dried blood caked on her wrists where the restraints here probably cutting into her flesh.

"What?" The man asked irritably. "You don't think it will happen? You've no idea the sheer scale of my-"

"'-discovery that will change all alchemic laws as we know it'. Yeah, you mentioned that. Everyday. It's getting old." Came the deadpan voice. "Honestly, come up with a new line or something. The reason you were kicked out of your previous job was probably 'cause you just droned on and on with the same damn thing over and over again and bored all your bosses to death. Get real."

The blond scientist stood violently at her remark, but she either took no notice or didn't care. "Anyway, like you're the type to share. The real reason you left was because you were tired of not being in the spotlight at your old job, letting others get the credit for your work while you toiled away under your betters." She turned and smirked at his furious expression.

"What, surprised? After so many one-sided conversations with you, you were easy to figure out." She ignored the dangerous look he was giving her and pressed on in a patronizing voice,

"Poor, poor Simon, doing the work he was assigned to and not being treated like divine grace for the answers he probably just swiped of his lab partner, ignored by his bosses and jealous of those that had ideas so much better than his own. Such a shaaaragh!"

She was violently cut off as the furious alchemist pressed his hands to a well-used array on her cell and sparks started to dance along her restraints. Her back arched violently and her restraints tugged violently at the wall as she screamed in agony, voice echoing loudly throughout the basement.

She fell back against the wall breathing heavily as the electricity finally stopped and the man lifted his hand from her cell, leaning forward to address her. "When will you learn to keep that tongue of yours checked?" he hissed out.

A wad of spit made a small _splat_ sound echo in the dim basement as it connected with his nose.

Mustang had to give it to the mysterious woman, she knew how to push buttons. Not the smartest course of action, as the man just activated the array again with even more vigor.

The old man stomped away with a scoff as she slid back against the wall, unconscious. Roy shook his head slightly at her actions. She wasn't the most sensible person, he decided. When one was held under confinement, the last thing you did was antagonize your captor. All you accomplished was more attention being paid to you, as she found out the hard way.

Or so he thought.

He raised an eyebrow as he watched her smoothly lower one of her hands away from above her head to reach behind her, grasping whatever was there before going to their previous position of 'confinement'. Now how did she get free? She was chained securely to the wall not a minute ago. He could still see the iron restraints on her wrists. Unless…

Ah. Now he could see. The chains were no longer attached to the cuffs. She must have gotten them released somehow when she was being electrocuted. She was feigning unconscious confinement now, probably waiting for the man to come collect her again.

He mentally took back what he thought earlier about the woman. She had ingenuity, he gave her that much, intentionally goading her captor into torturing her so she could slip free of her restraints in the process. Stealthy too, she had to wear down those links for her to be able to pull them away so easily without the man noticing. He wondered just what else she was capable of. Mysterious origins aside, he could use someone like her in his plans...

Or not. Before he could continue such thoughts, his orders suddenly rang through his head. He was to eliminate both the man and all materials used in his research. She clearly fell into that category, from what he heard. Freeing her would definitely be against strict orders, putting him at risk of court martial.

'_Or worse'_ came General Grumman's disembodied voice in his head.

Movement interrupted his thoughts as the fugitive stood and walked towards his hiding spot. Mustang shook himself of his conflicting feelings and focused on his battle plan. He could think of disobeying superiors later, for now he had an Alchemist to kill.

He watched as his target shuffled through some papers placed on top of the nearby surface, turning around and walking back as he found what he was looking for. The Flame Alchemist stood and tightened the gloves on this hand. Time to make his move.

"Stop right there."

The fugitive dropped his notes as he whirled to face him, surprise and shock evident on his face.

"What, who's there!? Come out and show yourself!"

Mustang obliged, taking pleasure from his target's facial expression paled considerably as he took in the blue of his uniform and the silver chain at his side. He walked forward from the shadows, hand extended in what he liked to call his 'scorch ready' position.

"Simon Fletcher, former Alchemist of the State." He began, voice full of authority, "You are wanted by the State for the crimes of theft of Government materials of a sensitive nature, desertion during a time of war, kidnapping, and unlawful conduct of research condemned by the State. Keep your hands where I can see them and do not resist, and maybe your death will be quick."

The aged alchemist slowly put his hands up in front of him, backing away slightly. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he knew the jig was up. He had hoped that the government would have forgotten about his recent… repurposing of those documents he had lifted from the fifth lab. It was not like his colleagues needed them after their successful creation of multiple philosopher stones from captured Ishvalans. He would have to go with plan B then, moving to another country to seek asylum. His research would be more than enough to gain citizenship in Creta or Drachma. But first, he had to deal with the dog that had been sent by his corrupt masters.

"No need to be so hasty. I see you're an alchemist like me. I have made recent discoveries that would be very interesting for you to learn. I would be happy to share them in exchange for my life…"

Yes, keep him talking. He just needed time to get an array completed. The little bit of chalk he dropped when he spun to face his intruder would do nicely. It helped to have a few tricks up your sleeve. Now to just move his foot in a circular motion, playing the helpless scientist…

"Maybe you could answer a couple of questions I have then." Mustang said. He had no intention of letting his target escape, but if he could get a little more information out of him before he killed him, it would help with his dilemma concerning the girl.

"Yes, yes, anything! I'll answer anything you want!"

"Then tell me about her."

He pointed to the cell with his free hand, the man's eyes following.

As soon as Simon's eyes locked with those of his captive, a plan formed in his head. He mentally smirked; it seemed his adversary was something of a white knight. Something he could exploit and make his getaway with.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Where did she come from, how are you connected, and was it related to that… monstrosity?" Gloved hands waved over to the bloodied transmutation circle as he said that.

Fletcher's eyes narrowed at the words. His array was a work of genius, how dare this young pup insult his life's work? He stopped moving his foot as he completed the array, stepping back as he answered.

"I'll tell you nothing!" He slammed his hands down on the ground, alchemical light coming to life as he manipulated the elements at his fingertips.

Mustang reacted instantly, middle finger and thumb striking against each other, the friction of the ignition cloth forming a spark as a snapping sound echoed around the basement. The embroidered array on the back of his gloves glowed as he manipulated the concentration of oxygen, creating a narrow pathway of the now dense gas between him and his target. A _fwoosh_ was heard as the very air caught alight an an explosion resounded around his victim.

Mustang smiled grimly before it disappeared just as fast. As the dust that was thrown up by his attack settled, a wall appeared came into focus, stray bits of hasty alchemy dotting it's surface. His target was not as easily downed as it seemed. He dashed around the wall, wary of a counter attack, simultaneously getting ready to attack himself when he stopped suddenly. He clenched his hands in frustration as he glared his foe, now standing by the bars of the prisoner's cell, a handgun pointed at her as he smiled wickedly right back at Mustang.

"Not so fast. Another move like that and I pull the trigger. You wouldn't want anything to happen to this poor innocent soul, now would you?"

The crazed man slowly shuffled to the side, making his way to the door of the cell, all the while keeping his eyes trained on The Flame Alchemist. As he stood with his back touching the bars, he motioned with his gun towards the girl.

"Now, stay right where you are. You will keep your hands where _I _could see them. I'm walking out of here with her at my side, and you will not impede us as we- _hurgkt!_

Hands shot out from the shadows of the cell, one arm tightening around the man's neck and yanking his head up. The old alchemist struggled briefly, turning slightly to face his captive who had only moment's ago appeared unconscious. His eyes widened in fear as he took in her murderous expression and the surgical instrument in her other hand. Before either man could do anything, a cuffed hand tore across the wanted man's throat, severing his jugular in one swift move. The man was held in place briefly by the chin while his lifeblood spurted like a bloody fountain from the fatal wound in his neck, before being dropped lifelessly to the ground.

As the blood slowly pooled around the now dead man, Mustang brought his eyes up from the corpse to the person in the cell. She had dropped the knife to the floor and fell to her knees, staring with wide eyes at the man she just brutally murdered. She shook slightly as she stared directly into his lifeless eyes and the blood that was slowly spreading out and into her cell. Mustang cleared his throat as he walked slowly towards her. She snapped out of her daze and turned dark blue eyes towards him as he approached.

He stopped in front of the cell, taking in her wary-yet-hopeful expression before speaking.

"Well, thank you for dealing with him for me, although I would have liked to question him a little more before his death. I don't suppose you would be kind enough to indulge me?"

She just continued to stare at him, slightly unnerving him. He coughed into his hand, the action bringing her back from wherever she young woman flushed a bit before answering in a slightly raspy voice.

"Um. What… what would you like to know? It's not like I know exactly what was going on in that bastard's insane mind." She motioned weakly to the body, not looking directly at it.

"Well, how about we start with your name miss-?"

"Han-" she coughed into her hand as her voice broke. "Kari Hanson. Sorry, but he didn't give me any water since… I don't remember. Since forever it feels like."

Mustang nodded and brought one of his hands to his coat pocket. The girl flinched slightly as he pulled out a piece of chalk. "Easy there, just doing something to sate your thirst. Give me a minute."

He laid out a basic transmutation array on the floor, a simple circle around another slightly smaller circle, with a square within a diamond just in the center. The simple array glowed slightly as a cup was transmuted from the ground, liquid water formed from the sparse humidity in the air pouring itself into the cup.

He offered it to the woman, her eyes wide with awe at the slight. He had to resist a smirk at her expression; obviously she hadn't seen much demonstrations of proper alchemy without it being used against her.

After drinking greedily from the cup, she set it down with a soft sigh of relief, eliciting a small smile from Mustang. It always felt good when you used alchemy the way it was supposed to be used, and not the way the military encouraged.

She turned a hopeful expression towards him as she finished her second cup. "Does this mean I'm free? Are you with the police? Please tell me you are." Her words were blurted out, barely restrained hope evident in the tone of her voice.

Mustang looked away at her question. He still hadn't decided what to do with her. Obviously question her, but what then? Orders were orders.

His silence dulled the girl's hopeful expression somewhat. She asked again, in a slightly shaky voice, "You are with the police. Right?"

"Not exactly, but close enough." Roy stood, giving her a two fingered salute. "Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, at your service."

"Colonel? As in the military?"

"Yes." He took in her blank expression at his introduction. She really didn't know this country was a stratocracy it seemed. He figured so, she would have recognized his uniform right away if she was from around here. This only added to what he had overheard earlier about her being from another world. Even a foreigner would recognize the uniform straight away.

Steps echoed behind him, and two pairs of eyes looked toward the blond soldier making her way towards them, gun held pointed to the ground in front of her.

"Are we clear, Sir?" she asked, looking towards her superior after taking in the chaotic looking labratory.

"Yes. Although we have a bit of an issue now." He looked pointedly towards Kari as he said that.

Kari stood and grasped the bars of the entrance to her cell as she gave the Colonel a pleading look. "Issue? Me? There's no issue here, I'll do whatever you need me to. Just get me out of here."

"_Thats_ the issue here." At her confused look he turned to look away at all the notes and science implements scattered haphazardly about the dark room. "Our orders are to eliminate both the scientist," he nudged the body on the floor with his feet, "as well as any and all materials that he used in his research."

"I still don't see how that makes me an issue here."

"_All_ materials."

It slowly dawned on Kari just what the Colonel had meant now. "W-wait. You aren't serious, are you?"

"..."

A loud _clang_ resounded as the iron cuffs around her wrists connected with the cage as angry eyes glared at the Colonel's back. "Thats… not fair! How could you condemn me to share that... that bastard's fate when I was nothing more than his unwilling prisoner? He was the one who brought me here! I never asked to be a part of any of this!"

Mustang just continued to look away, not answering, but his silence was enough of an answer. She slid down to her knees, tears forming in her eyes as she sank to the ground in defeat.

"It's true. It's not fair. But that's the way this country conducts itself. The military is nothing more than a tool of a select few who place their own interests above the people. Any who oppose their decisions are often imprisoned or outright killed."

He turned back to face her now, expression unreadable. With a subtle movement of his head towards the cell, he gave an order to his subordinate.

His second in command nodded hand brought her gun up, the _click_ as the safety was released almost deafening in the dead silence.

Kari clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable explosion of sound that would end her short life. She didn't have to wait long.

_Bang_


	3. Indebted

**Sorry about the long wait! I had originally planned to update twice a week, but work really got in the way these last few weeks, I went from part time to full time since classes are out for the year and am only now getting into the rhythm of things. Hopefully I can stick to my schedule from now on. Also, this chapter was a bitch to write. I was going to post the first draft of this about a week ago, but re-reading it I just found it so bland and... ugh. Who knew writing could be so hard at times? I'm still not entirely satisfied with this, but I've got to move on. Well, without further ado, here we go, chapter 3! (And no cliff-hangers, I promise)**

* * *

><p><em>His second in command nodded her assent, bringing her gun up. The click as the safety was released almost deafening in the dead silence. <em>

_Kari clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable explosion of sound that would end her short life. _

_She didn't have to wait long. _

Bang

* * *

><p>The sound reverberated in Kari's head, her ears ringing from being so close to the muzzle of the gun when it went off in her direction. Her eyes were still clenched shut in anticipation of either extreme pain or the floaty nothingness she experienced during her little hangout with Truth. Seeing as neither feeling had occurred (other than the slight headache she now had from the constant ringing in her ears) she slowly cracked open one eye to see what had happened.<p>

The first thing that came into focus was a pair of boots. Nice boots, she had to admit, all black and distinctly military in design, shined to a mirror finish. Opening both eyes, she slowly moved her head upwards to see the man who had ordered her killed squatting in front of her in her cell. Blue eyes met charcoal, one pair with slight amusement, the other in utter bafflement. Hadn't he ordered his subordinate to shoot her dead? And why was he just squatting in front of her in silence? Oh wait, his lips were moving, she just couldn't hear him over the _constant bloody ringing._

She shook her head at whatever he had said and pointed to her ears. He frowned slightly before asking another question, causing her to roll her eyes as if saying 'yeah, couldn't hear that either.'

Oh wait, she did say that. Or rather, she yelled it, if the way he fell back onto his ass in surprise was any indication. Whatever, it's his own damn fault to begin with, what with ordering his companion to fire her gun in her direction at point blank range a small contained room.

Speaking of said shooter, it appeared she was now in an argument with her superior. Seemed Black haired smarmy officer guy had stood up and was arguing with blond haired woman soldier person over… her, if the way they kept gesturing in her direction was any indication. Kari's head moved from one to the other as they went back and forth in their argument. As the ringing slowly died down, the volume of their discussion steadily built.

"... should have known better. Of course that was going to happen."

"You were the one who shot at point blank range! All you needed to do was open the mechanism, not give the poor girl hearing damage!"

"I_ did_ open the mechanism! It's not my fault your orders-"

"I did not order you to-"

"Excuse me!" Kari yelled, rubbing sore ears. "Just what the hell is going on!"

Both Mustang and Hawkeye stared at her before trading glances with each other, somehow managing to continue their argument with just a few pointed looks and facial expressions. Mustang concluded it by turning to Kari and offering her a hand up.

"As I was saying, before I was rudely yelled at by the person I just set free..."

The look Kari gave him was completely unrepentant. "Set free?"

Mustang pointed to the cell door, which was now sporting a still smoking hole where the keyhole was. She narrowed her eyes at the destroyed lock, suddenly siding with Mustang as she played out what had happened while her eyes were shut.

She turned to glare at the now sheepish looking blond. "Who the hell shoots a door to open it?!"

Roy whirled around and stabbed an accusing finger at his subordinate. "See? She agrees with me!"

The blond haired woman turned away and coughed into her hand, looking slightly embarrassed for herself. "You ordered the cell open and now it's open. Lets move on, shall we?"

"Fine." Kari turned back to Mustang as she accepted his help and stood on slightly wobbly legs. "Why did you spare me then? What happened to your orders to destroy all 'materials', huh?" At the word materials, she pointed to herself, causing Mustang to look away.

"Enough innocents have died by these hands these last few years. I promised myself that I would help the people of this country instead of being an attack dog, so I'll take any excuse to spare any lives from the State's heavy handed tactics."

At his somber answer Kari suddenly lost most of her apprehension. Even the stoic Hawkeye looked a little more subdued.

'_More innocents, huh? Bet there's quite a story behind that'._ "Well… you could have just told me, instead of scaring me half to death but… Thank you. For sparing me. I guess." she finished a little awkwardly.

"Oh, it wasn't totally selfless. I stand to gain from this as well." Suddenly drawn back from his previous mood, Mustang turned back to Kari with an unreadable expression.

"Oh?" Kari asked, a little wary. "What exactly do you stand to gain from me?"

"Information. With our friend here dead, you are the only one with first hand knowledge of what transpired here. I want answers, plain and simple."

Kari nodded, satisfied with his answer. It seemed he really was good guy after all. She could work with this. She leaned against the cell bars for support as she answered him. "I'll tell you whatever the hell you want, just get me as far away from this place as possible."

Mustang nodded, turning away and smirking slightly. "Good. Would have been awkward to have had to go back on my word, especially after my whole 'sparing the innocents' speech." He said with a slightly teasing tone to his voice.

"WHAT-"

Hawkeye chose that moment to chime in before another argument could erupt. "If we are extracting her, sir, what about the rest of the men still outside? It's not going to be easy moving her completely unnoticed in her condition." She said eyeing Kari's thin and bruised frame.

Mustang cursed silently in his head. Of course at least one part of his plan would come back to bite him in the ass. All the soldiers were stationed outside in such a way that nobody could escape the grounds unnoticed. Even more so, someone that looked like an escaped lab experiment. He was also sure that at least one of the men under his command was reporting back to central on his actions. No way the brass would just trust him to destroy sensitive materials without someone watching over his shoulder.

"Alright." He said after a couple minutes thought, turning to his second. "Can I trust you to get her to a safe location within the city unnoticed with her in such a condition?"

"Of course sir." Riza said immediately. "Provided you do your part and give us a proper cover in which to slip out, not to mention covering my absence on the way back into town." She ran a practiced gaze over the girl leaning against the bars, assessing the damage. "Can you walk at all? Alot of this going right depends on it."

Kari offered a small smile/grimace in response. "I'll manage, I'm not screwing this opportunity up. I'll crawl away if need be. "

Mustang nodded, a grim smile spreading across his face as his eyes roamed over the disordered lab. "I think I can provide a flashy enough distraction. I have to make sure it's all properly destroyed, after all."

Hawkeye nodded, moving over to Kari and laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Then we'll rendezvous in New Optain. I'll make sure our new friend here gets proper attention and meet you at the garrison before I'm missed."

"Then it's settled."

Mustang gave the dark haired girl a smirk before turning around and tightening his gloves. "I guess I'll see you later then, after I've dealt with this."

The two women made to leave the basement, one leaning slightly on the other for support as they ascended the stairs as Mustang walked around and took in the small room. He would give his second three minutes to get into a proper position, then start the show. He grinned slightly at the thought. If there was one thing that he would always enjoy, it was showing off in front of a crowd.

* * *

><p>The red haired soldier standing guard at the front door tensed slightly as a soft knock came from the other side, his two squadmates behind him lifting their guns to point at the source of the noise. He relaxed and waved down his companions only after a specific sequence of taps followed. That was the code for an all clear. The door opened and Hawkeye emerged from the building, barking orders to the troops gathered nearby.<p>

"Alright you lot, let's move out! Our target is dead and the Colonel is carrying out the destruction of his lab and related materials. Everyone is to move to a safe distance before they get caught in the blast. Move it!"

The soldiers didn't need to be told twice as they hurried to get as far away as possible from the structure. This was the Flame Alchemist, renowned for his destructive capabilities. No way in hell would they want to be anywhere near what he considered an explosion.

In the chaos of shouted warnings to the others near the back and the scramble to get away in the pitch dark of the night, no one noticed the figure slipping out behind the blond, shadowing the Lieutenant in the mad dash and disappearing into the bushes once they cleared the estate grounds. Kari thanked her lucky stars that it was so dark, otherwise she would have been spotted instantly.

Not too long after, a thundering _boom _was heard coming from inside the mansion. Windows exploded outwards from the sheer force of the blast and a roaring inferno consumed the structure completely in an instant, lighting up the surrounding area as if it were day. Mustang emerged soon after, seemingly from the very flames themselves, causing many of the newer recruits to look at him with slack-jawed expressions. The veterans of the civil war merely looked on with respect, most having fought by his side in the bloody conflict that concluded just a few months prior.

As Mustang drew close to the group of soldiers assembled at their original rally point he couldn't help the cocky smirk that still played along his lips, especially at the stares and open-mouth gaping the newer boys were giving him. Not a single one noticed that that were one blond haired comrade short. And as long as he played up his part of the Flame Alchemist, they wouldn't anytime soon.

-.-

Meanwhile, as Mustang and his contingent made their way along the main road into town, the former loudly boasting his abilities all the while, the two women took a slightly longer route, cutting through fields and backroads towards the town. It was slow going, what with Kari not having had any form of exercise in months, not to mention her injuries that forced them to stop and take breaks frequently. Eventually, they made it into the small city where Hawkeye made a beeline for one of the hotels situated nearby to the garrison so that both her and Mustang could slip away to check on her without being gone for too long.

As they made their way through the streets, Kari couldn't help but think back to her first conversation with both truth and the scientist that brought her here, as she took in the sights and sounds of the small city. _'So this is a different world, huh? Doesn't look too different. Maybe a little rustic, but not all that alien.'_

After paying for a single room (and Kari stoically ignoring the stares her disheveled appearance was drawing from the clerks and other patrons) the two finally settled into the room, both collapsing onto the couch after the three hour journey from the countryside to the city. It should have normally taken no more than half an hour, but walking through fields and back country roads with one person relying heavily on the other to keep themselves up was exhausting.

"Finally. I thought we would never make it." Riza huffed. Her charge merely groaned in response. "At least we can finally get you into a shower. I thought I was going to pass out from the smell alone." she teased, smiling lightly at the other girl.

At the word shower, Kari suddenly found renewed reserves of energy, shooting up from the couch and nearly knocking the blond over.

"Oh god yes, I haven't had one since I was brought here." She managed two steps before she stumbled in her haste to the washroom, Hawkeye barely managing to catch her in time.

"Careful now. I didn't drag you all the way here just for you to break your neck at the home stretch. Take it easy, at least until we get those injuries looked at."

That was going to be a fun challenge. Where was she going to find a doctor who could keep matters discrete at such short notice? She might as well check in with the Colonel to see if he found someone, since he should have arrived at the base hours ago.

Meanwhile, Kari was in heaven. She practically threw the rags that she wore as clothes for the past few months off of her and jumped into the tub, cranking open the taps and sighing in relief as pure bliss started it's long and soothing process of removing the layers upon layers of grime covering her body. She payed almost no attention to the knock on the door and the voice of her escort as she said something about meeting with her boss and bringing back some proper attire, and that she was to stay inside the room until she came back. She was perfectly fine with that and it wasn't like she would be going anywhere without proper clothes anyway. She sighed again as she added more hot water into the mix. Bliss.

* * *

><p>"... and that's it. I destroyed the house and all of his materials, right down to the instruments used in the experiments. Nothing was spared, as ordered."<p>

"Excellent work Mustang, I knew I could count on you to get this matter resolved quickly. I suppose I can expect your report in person sometime tomorrow?"

"About that sir… We will have to stay in town for a couple of days, two at the most. One of my subordinates was injured in the scuffle with the rogue alchemist. Nothing serious, but all the same I would like to get a doctor to see to them. I trust that won't be an issue?"

"... yes, of course. Take all the time you need on that matter. Just be sure to keep me posted on that, ok?"

"Yessir. Good evening sir."

Mustang hung up the phone, letting out a sigh and leaning against the cubicle. Grumman was as sharp as ever and immediately picked up on something amiss. No matter, he would tell him of his bending of the rules in person, when he wasn't at risk of being overheard. He was certain that he of all people would agree with his decision. The old man supported him in his quest to change the country after all. He could trust him to support him on this as well.

Composing himself, the lieutenant colonel made his way from the small hallway where the phones were to the barracks. He was supposed to meet Hawkeye there and plan out what they were to do about their guest. She needed a doctor, of that he was certain. Someone who could be paid to be discreet. He wanted as few people involved in this as possible, just one slip of the tongue to the wrong person and he could kiss his career (and probably his life) goodbye. This meant a trip to the local bank branch was in order. Good thing he hadn't touched his research grant at all in the last few months, all he needed was a cheap excuse later on when he did his yearly assessment to cover his actions.

"Sir."

Mustang looked up in surprise. There stood Hawkeye, ready and waiting for him with a salute in front of the entrance to their rooms. She looked a little worse for wear, short hair a little ruffled and some twigs still sticking out of her combat fatigues, but otherwise in good condition. Her punctuality was still something to get used to. She just traveled across the countryside with an injured person probably hanging off of her, and yet she still managed to meet him at the appointed time. Hell, she was _early. _

Mustang shook himself out of his surprise, covering it with a cough. "Good work today, lieutenant. Mission accomplished, with no casualties except the one. I just reported in, we don't have to be back in East City until we get our injured looked after."

Riza looked at him in curiosity. "Injured sir? I didn't know anyone among our squad was injured. Are they ok?"

"You tell me. You were the one I reported injured."

Just as her superior's words registered in her head, a couple of soldiers from their unit exited the showers a few doors down. Mustang suppressed a smirk and latched on to the lieutenant before she could react, knocking her legs out from behind and lifting her in his arms. Just as she was about to do violent things to her boss, he spun around as the soldiers reached them.

"Ah, good evening Colonel." The one in front said, saluting as his comrades followed suit.

"You as well Lieutenant. Wow, you look rough. I didn't notice you were injured in our march back into town. I see the Colonel caught you before you snuck out to target practice or something similar, huh?" The one right behind the first one said with a snicker.

Before Hawkeye could say anything Mustang jostled her and laughed loudly. "Of course! Caught her sneaking out to get some last minute work done, despite her injuries. So dutiful my adjutant is! Don't know what I'd do without her!"

Brown eyes glared a hole into her boss, who pretended not to notice.

"See? Nothing keeps her from her duties it seems. But on this I put my foot down, she will see a proper medical professional even if I have to take her to one personally! Which I intend too. Right this moment. I trust you boys to behave in our absence?"

"Of course sir!" came the reply from all three, suppressing laughter at the pissed off look the blond was giving her superior.

"Very well then. Keep to the base until we return! I'm off to see to the Lieutenant."

With that, the pair made their way off the base, mustang playing up his part of the gallant and caring commander to any who crossed their path. As soon as the two were out of sight of any soldiers, Mustang let the Lieutenant down, cracking his neck in the process.

"Ack. Been awhile since I did any lifting like that. How are you holding up, Lieutenant? Did you like my plan to buy us an evening or two?"

Instead of a verbal response, Mustang felt a chill run up along his spine, as if death itself was glaring at his back. He turned around to see just that in his subordinate's eyes.

"L-lieutenant? You know I was just playing up our part so we could have a few hours to deal with matters. R-right?" Roy said nervously, backing away slowly.

"Really? In that case, it's a good thing we are going to be looking for a doctor. I think you'll need one soon enough."

Mustang turned and ran off as Hawkeye reached for her sidearm. Perhaps he should get that doctor now.

* * *

><p>"Thank you for your time, Doctor. My sister and I thank you for your timely and <em>discrete<em> service."

An older man with a large white fluffy beard and matching hair laughed as he exited the hotel room. "Of course! Always happy to help those in need. Especially those with large pockets, haha! And don't worry, as far as anyone is concerned I've been helping a rather wealthy family living out in the countryside these past couple days. Which reminds me, I should get to the station and make myself seen. Good day to you two."

The door closed, and as soon as the larger man's steps faded away a disheveled Mustang pulled open the closet, stepping out and giving his subordinate a Glare.

"That cover was revenge for carrying you from the barracks, wasn't it?"

"It was merely to keep you from being fingered should he be less than discrete, sir. Hiding in the closet and providing a watchful eye should the good doctor be anything less than professional was a critical part of operational security. It was unfortunate that the man required a constant presence in the room these last couple days, but it was for the good of the mission." Riza winked to Kari as she sat down on the couch, smiling slightly.

Roy groaned and stretched out his body, working out the kinks in his joints. That small closet was cramped and he had to spend the night in the tiny space. He was fine up until the good doctor told his charge that she required overnight observation to ensure her injuries healed properly. He also could not sneak out when the occupants of the room were sleeping, as he discovered that the Lieutenant had set the extra cot right beside the sliding door. Evil woman.

Meanwhile, Kari was sitting upright in the bed staring at the two in amusement as they bantered back and forth in one of their arguments again. Over the last two days she only got to know Riza, as Mustang had to stay confined to the closet. She played the part of the blond's long lost sister, and had spent the time getting to know her little by little. They couldn't discuss anything sensitive around the man, but it was nice to have someone to talk to after months of isolation. From what she had gathered the two soldiers were close, comrades in a bloody civil war that only recently ended. Riza hadn't went into too much detail on that matter, but Kari didn't blame her. She got the just and left that topic alone, as it was clear the lieutenant didn't want to relive any of it just yet.

Although… She had originally pegged the two as a couple, or something along those lines. But every time she saw them interact, sure there was camaraderie, but there was also something that ran a wedge in between them. It was subtle, but Kari saw it; Standing close, but not_ too_ close. Shared glances and gestures, but all too brief and professional. No real intimacy in their actions, but plenty of friendly ribbing. Maybe they were a couple, but had a recent falling out. She was curious, but at the same time didn't want to pry, as they essentially held her future in their hands. Better to leave personal matters alone anyway.

"Alright." Mustang started a few minutes later as he exited out of the room's bathroom. "Let's finally get to questioning our friend here. Forgive me for jumping right to it, but I've spent the last twenty four hours stewing on what I've seen in that mansion and I want answers."

The pair took up seats beside the bed, Hawkeye with a notepad and pen ready to write down all that was discussed.

Kari stretched back, arms behind her head as she settled in for a long questioning. "A deal is a deal. What would you like to know?"

"Let's start with the basics. What is your full name?

"Easy enough. Kari Hanson."

"Town of origin?"

"Edmonton. And it's more of a city, really."

Mustang frowned at the unfamiliar name. "Hmm… Nationality?"

"Canadian."

Again, he frowned and turned to his companion, whom in turn gave him a deadpan look..

"Oh. Right. Uh..." He suddenly looked a little embarrassed for himself, prompting Kari to tilt her head in confusion.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing. I just remembered the small fact that you are not really from anywhere myself or the lieutenant would recognize, if what I overheard Mr. Fletcher talking about in the lab is accurate."

Kari gave a nervous laugh at that. "Oh, heard that did ya? Ahaha, I was hoping that little tidbit stayed secret… It seems to make people want to poke and prod me as if I were from another planet… Well, I guess I am, but-"

Mustang smiled as he held up a hand, prompting the girl to stop her nervous rambling. "That's quite alright, we're not going to dissect you in a lab somewhere. Let's just continue with the verbal questioning for now. I was never really one for the whole lab scene anyway."

At that the girl calmed down considerably, sitting back down on the bed with a sigh of relief. Mustang smiled a little before leaning back and looking to his own little notepad with questions that he had prepared.

"Date of birth?" He asked. He had her pegged at around his age, perhaps a little younger, but not by much.

"December 7th, 1994."

There was a pause before the pen made a clacking sound as it fell to the ground. The lieutenant hurriedly reached down and grabbed it, roughly scribbling down the information on the notepad with wide eyes. Mustang blinked at the girl before sharing incredulous glances with his companion.

Kari eyed the two with suspicion. "Interesting reactions."

Mustang waved the statement away. "Nevermind that. What is the current date?" he asked hurriedly.

"Uh…" Kari looked a little taken aback by the question. "I'm not actually sure how long I've been held captive. I have a rough idea, but it wasn't like I could count the days accurately."

"How about the last date you remember?"

"Let's see… I had just finished the first of my exams and had to study for the second… I also had to be at work for the weekend evening shift... soo... "

Mustang and Hawkeye leaned in as Kari trailed off, still looking up at the fan as if the answers were hanging off of it.

"Ah… The 18th of October, 2014. I think. Might be a couple of days off, I'm terrible with dates and stuff."

"2014…? Did I hear that right?" Mustang questioned with a bit of awe in his voice, turning his head to face Hawkeye.

"A hundred years..." Riza whispered in the same tone.

Kari looked back and forth at the two wide-eyed soldiers. "Anyone wanna explain to me why you're giving me those looks? And what the big deal with the date is? It's not like I was held for THAT long… Right?"

Mustang and Hawkeye both looked to each other before turning back to Kari.

"Well…"

"... It's not that…"

"It's just…"

Kari crossed her arms and tapped her index finger impatiently. "Spit it out already. How long has it been? I better not have missed new year's…"

Mustang pinched his nose and closed his eyes as he leaned forward in his chair. "Ah... how do I put this… You don't need to worry about missing the new year festivities, as it is still only November."

"Really? Huh. Thought it would have been longer. Then what's…"

"November 9th, 1909."

"..."

Kari just stared dumbly at the two, expression slowly matching their previous ones. "Wait. Hold on… You can't expect me to believe…"

Mustang stood and walked over to the hallway beside the bathroom, pulling something off the wall. He walked back and held out the item to the baffled woman. Kari looked over the sheet of paper, which turned out to be a calendar. With the year '1909' printed in bold script right at the top.

She shot out of the bed and dashed over to the window, ignoring the protests of the other two. She hadn't looked outside yet, being bedridden and whatnot, but there was no way she was a century in the past. This was a joke, a lie. It had to be. As soon as she looked out she would see a car, or someone walking down the street talking on a cellphone, or… _something_ modern people did.

Her first sight of what seemed to me a replica of an old ford model T rumbling down a cobbled street flanked by gas lamps shattered that desperate line of thought. The people walking in the streets certainly wore clothing that matched the apparent times as well, with most of the woman wearing full length skirts complete with frilly dresses and the men either in matching two piece suits or sporting suspenders over their shirts. Certainly stylish, but not _modern_ stylish. She really was in the past.

She backed away from the window and fell back onto the bed in a daze. First she learns that she isn't anywhere on earth anymore, now she finds out she isn't even in the same time period? What next, will elves and magic be a thing that exists as well? Oh wait, the magic bit was real too _argh_. She leaned forward and held her head in her hands as it all set in.

Mustang coughed awkwardly in the sudden silence, still standing beside his subordinate just off to the side. Riza elbowed her boss and the pair traded a few silent gestures before Roy sighed and stepped forward, apparently having lost the argument.

"Uh, well... Look, how about we continue on. Maybe having some questions of your own answered will help. How's that sound?"

Kari nodded, face still covered by her hands. Mustang took a seat and motioned to his subordinate to continue. Hawkeye nodded and looked back to her notepad.

"Lets see... Do you have an occupation?"

"Uh. I guess. It was only a part time job though. I'm a student primarily. Well, was..."

"Oh? What was your field of study?"

Blue eyes finally looked back up at the two. "I was halfway through my Bachelor of Science in Computer sciences. Was going to either try to find a job or take my studies a little further if nothing came up after I finished."

"_Computer..._ Science?" Mustang asked, confused.

Kari waved her hand and shook her head at his confused look. "I'm not even going to bother to explain. That bit of technology won't be invented for quite a few years yet. Lets just go with a science degree and leave it at that."

Mustang looked like he wanted to ask more about the subject, but an elbow from his side and a light cough from his subordinate (or nanny, as Kari was starting to think) stopped him.

"Oh… right. Is there anything you want to know?"

"Ah… Well… Where am I, would be a good start i guess. I think that Simon guy called this place 'Amentres' or something like that when I first arrived."

Mustang smirked, leaning back into his seat. "Yes, I suppose that would be at the top of your list. In that case, let me be the first to properly welcome you to the country of _Amestris_. And before you ask," he said at the questions that were on her lips. "Yes, this country is a stratocracy, which means just about everything is run by the military. No, not all alchemists are evil plotting scientists with little regard for human life, and yes," he cut her off again at her raised finger. "We are the good guys and intend to keep to our word regarding yourself, despite the revelations."

Kari huffed and crossed her arms at his smug look. "Well I guess that answers the most pressing things I had on my mind. Though for the record, I don't think all… alchemists? Are evil cartoon villains. I mean, I did, until you showed up and showed me otherwise."

Roy grunted, crossing his legs in annoyance. "There's always a few who abuse this gift we are given and twist it into something horrible. It only adds to the people's superstitions about us."

He shook himself out of his thoughts, reaching into his uniform breast pocket and pulling out his notepad again. "Alright… well, now that we got the basics out of the way, lets get to the real reason why we are here."

The dark haired girl sat a little straighter. "The lab, I assume?"

"Yes." Mustang nodded, expression now serious. "I didn't plan on poking my nose into anything that man studied, but that array I saw was nothing short of…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

"... you really don't want to know what that thing was for. Hell, thinking back to what was in his closet is…"

Mustang cut in as she trailed off. "It involved people didn't it? Around thirty or so?"

Kari looked up at him in surprise. "You know about that?"

He nodded with a grim expression. "That was the primary reason we were called in. It started with just a few kidnappings, but once the military caught wind of just what those kidnappings were being used for, we got called in to sort things out. What that man was doing was something we alchemists call 'human transmutation'. It's a forbidden art in alchemy, and a crime punishable by death in this country. I'm sure you can see why."

At her hesitant nod he looked back to his notes and pressed on. "Well… lets start at the beginning then. Tell us all that you remember before we rescued you. How you came to be here, what happened when you first encountered mister Fletcher… everything."

Kari laid back down on the bed and sighed. "Well, you might as well get comfy. This'll take a while."

"I'll go get us some coffee then." the blond stood up and walked over to the kitchenette as the brunette began her long story.

-.-

Kari paced around the small room impatiently, occasionally taking a sip of whatever coffee flavor the Lieutenant had made. It didn't really taste like anything she had before, but she wasn't in the mood to hunt for the package in the small kitchenette. Right now, she was anxiously waiting for the two soldiers to come back after they left to report back to their base or whatever soldiers did when they needed an excuse to leave and freak out in private.

Not that she blamed them in the least. Hell, she hardly believed her own story and she lived it. Although, watching that Mustang guy's expression when she got to the whole 'Truth' bit change from interested to comically incredulous was entertaining, to say the least. Not like that Hawkeye person, her only tell was slightly raised eyebrows and an intense stare that never failed to unnerve her. Kari could only dream to one day be as hardcore as that blond was.

Finally, after almost an hour of waiting the pair returned. Any questions Kari had died on her lips as she immediately honed in on the package of delicious smelling food that the Colonel was carrying. She swiped the brown paper bag out of his hands as he was in the middle of removing his black overcoat, prompting his sidekick to snicker at his miffed expression.

"I see you're appetite hasn't dwindled any." he stated dryly as he watched her devour the freshly baked biscuits.

Kari shrugged, not apologetic in the slightest. The doctor told her she was slightly malnourished, and she had to increase her calorie intake for the next little while to gain the weight that she lost while under confinement. She also had a lot of exercise to catch up on in order to get back into proper shape, something that she was not looking forward to.

She wiped her hands on her new pants (Courtesy of Hawkeye) before turning back to the dark haired officer. "So. What is going to happen to me? You said that you'd let me go after I answered all your questions."

"That I did."

Mustang took a seat in the small living space in the room and motioned Kari to sit in the sofa across from him. As she did so, the lieutenant handed her a manila folder and sat beside her commanding officer, all business like.

"What's this?" Kari asked as he looked over the plain folder.

"An offer."

At her confused look, Riza spoke up. "Have you thought about what you are going to do after we let you go? You have no history here, no forms of identification and no way of returning to where you came from."

At that Kari paused. She didn't really know what she was going to do after this. She had no way of going back, as she knew next to nothing about the magi- _science_, that had brought her here, as well she knew almost nothing about where she was, other than that the country was apparently run by a military dictatorship that held little regard for it's citizens lives and would not think twice about throwing her in a cell for not having the proper identification papers with her.

"I haven't really thought that far. I want to go home, but I have no idea how to accomplish that…"

"Will you resort to his methods should that prove to be the only way to achieve that?" Mustang asked, looking for her reaction.

Kari shuddered at the thought, looking away. The bodies piled unceremoniously in a small closet, the blood stained circle… "Never. No way will I ever resort to that. I couldn't ask anyone to go though that just for my sake. If that is the only way back, then I don't want to go back. It's bad enough so many were sacrificed just to get me here..."

"At no fault of your own." Kari looked up in surprise as Mustang leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't even begin to think that mess was any fault of yours. You had no choice in the matter. Don't go beating yourself up, it'll only slow you down. Trust me on that."

His stare was intense enough that any retort died on her lips. She slowly nodded her agreement, and Mustang leaned back into his own seat.

"So, what is this offer?" She finally asked, turning over the folder and looking inside.

Mustang leaned his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers as he thought about how to answer. Truth was, he was considering this for sometime now. It was only after getting his subordinate's opinion on the girl's character after having spent some time with her that he decided. In the end though, it was all on her to make the final decision.

"You have two options now. The first option is one that was always going to be available to you, and that is leaving. We'll keep to our word and not mention any of this to anyone, and you'll be free to go and do as you wish."

Kari nodded her head in understanding. "And the second option?"

"The second option is coming with me back to East City."

"Wait, what? With you? Why, what do you want with me?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing nefarious and nothing to do with alchemy experiments, I assure you." Mustang replied with his hands held in front of him. "What I offer is my protection. I can give you a background and documents support it, along with employment and a guarantee that you will be allowed to search for a way to return to your home."

Kari thought over the offer. It was generous, that was certain. All her worries about what she was going to do on her own would be effectively nullified. However...

"I'm already indebted to you for saving my life. Why would you go even more out of your way just for me? What do you stand to gain from this deal?"

"Loyalty." He said simply.

"... Come again?"

The colonel stood and walked to the window, gazing out to the darkness. "Forging a past for you doesn't come without significant risk to myself, it is highly illegal after all. What I want in return is for you to come and work under me, ultimately assisting me with furthering my goals. I need people loyal to myself and not the state in order to do so."

"Okey…" She said, drawing out the word. "What exactly are your goals? I can only assume it goes against your superiors, and therefore this country if you require such commitment from your followers."

Mustang smirked slightly. "You guess correctly." He turned back to face her, crossing his arms. "The current regime is outdated. For centuries this country has been aggressively expanding and waging wars all for the sake of more land and more power. What I want is to change that, to set the military to protect it's citizens like it's supposed to do. I want the parliament to have power again,to give the people a voice in how they govern themselves. For this, I need people to support me as I climb the ranks and eventually reach the top."

"...and you think I am able to help you in this? I'm only a student. A civilian. I hardly think you could use someone like me. Hell, I've never even considered the military a career option."

"Don't sell yourself so short. I see great potential in you to be useful in my plans, if the skills you demonstrated in your escape attempt are any indication. It's true, you have no formal training in military matters, but that can be taught. Don't forget, you also come from a world entirely different from this one, probably with knowledge that doesn't exist yet here. More than enough reason for me to keep you close."

He walked over to her and pointed to the folder in her hands.

"In that is all the information on the Amestrian Military Academy. If you chose to come with me, you'll be enrolled and taught all the skills required for this line of work. It'll even add validity to your claims of being a citizen of this country, after all, military personnel are held a little higher than average citizens here."

Kari looked back down to the folder, scanning through it's contents. Everything was as he said, an isolated facility located just north of the city of Central, teaching of basic and advanced military doctrine…

"So… How long is this going to take then? It looks like this place trains officers, not foot soldiers."

"Usually around a year and a half, give or take. You spend eight months as a junior cadet and make your way to a senior once you demonstrate you have the leadership skills to continue on. However… for you…"

Kari tilted her head at his pause. "Yes? What about me?"

Mustang shook his head and waved her question away. "Nevermind that. So what is your answer?"

Looking back to the folder, Kari mulled over her options. It was true, she didn't plan past 'escape', but that didn't mean she couldn't come up with one. It shouldn't be too hard to find a place to stay and a place to work on her own. However… This country did sound pretty hardcore with it's military power, and she had no background or information on this country. One false step and she could be looking at imprisonment or worse. She highly doubted the military cared much for human rights by the little she had gathered about it.

She stared at the picture in the folder of blue uniformed soldiers proudly saluting a green flag outside of a large white structure, with a man with a black mustache and an eyepatch at the front of the column. If she took his offer, she wouldn't have to worry about any of that, but she would still essentially be signing her life away, at least until she found a way to get back. _If _there was a way back.

But… At least she would be helping a man with proper goals in mind. After all, he did risk his career just to save her. He didn't have to do it, but Mustang is putting his neck on the line just so she could have this opportunity. And she did owe him her life...

She brought her eyes back up to see Mustang's gaze on her, waiting for her answer.

"I... "

She slumped in her seat, head falling down. "... really didn't think I'd ever be a soldier." She stood up, looking back to the two with a more determined expression. "I agree. I owe you for saving my life anyway. Guess this is my way of paying you back."

She held out her hand and mustang shook it. He nodded in satisfaction. "Good. I was not lying when I said I saw potential in you. I'd hate to see it go to waste."

With a glance to his subordinate, Hawkeye pulled out an envelope from her uniform's inner chest pocket and handed it to Kari. She opened it to reveal what looked to be train tickets, few notes of currency and a piece of paper with neat handwriting on it.

"The train to East City leaves at 7am sharp. Dont give the personnel at the station a reason to ID you and you should be fine. Your instructions for when you arrive are included in that envelope." Mustang pulled on his black overcoat as he gave Kari his directions.

"Wait, you have all this already planned out?" Kari asked incredulously as she read over the detailed instructions. Hell, there was even a crude map of the city giving rough directions to the train station from where she currently was. "You were gone for like, half an hour!"

"He does that." Hawkeye deadpanned as she followed her superior to the door. Kari just stared after them, note still in hand as the pair made to leave. No way did he have the time to run to the station and get tickets for her in the short time that he was gone. That Mustang must have had her recruitment planned from the start.

"Well then," Mustang's voice broke Kari out of her thoughts. She looked up to see both soldiers waiting near the door. "I'll leave the rest to you. We need to head back to the garrison and prepare for departure tomorrow morning. We'll see each other again at the East City headquarters. Until then."

In unison, the pair brought up their arms in a sharp salute, bodys snapping to attention with practiced precision. Kari stared for a second before the slightly raised eyebrow from the Colonel gave her the hint.

"Er…" She straightened and gave an awkward salute, trying to mirror the other two soldiers. Mustang smirked slightly and even Hawkeye broke a smile at the rough pose.

"Needs work, but you'll get plenty of practice soon enough. Come, Lieutenant."

"Yes sir." With a reassuring wink at Kari, the blond soldier followed the Colonel out, closing the door behind her.

Kari stared at the door for a few seconds before slumping her shoulders. She looked back to both the folder and the envelope in her hands before sighing and plopping down onto the couch.

'_What the hell did I just get myself into?'_


End file.
